Just Leaving
by XxDracoxX
Summary: "He was just leaving" Daphne was the school sweetie, though she refused every man who even bothered asking her to hogsmead. Until a brave little Irish dared asking her to a Valentines trip to Hogsmead


_**ROUND THREE: QUIDDITCH FANFICTION COMPETITION. **_

Seamus Finnigan was alone, his disheveled Quidditch t-shirt cast aside, his somewhat chiseled abs displayed over his grey sweatpants, his feet bare. Again. It was five years since the last time he was in the position. He was sitting on his bed, writing Valentines owls to every female in Seventh Year Hogwarts. Seamus was truly desperate to have a date to the Hogsmead Valentines day Seventh Year trip. An entire weekend of romance, chocolate, and high spirits. And romance. The perfect chance for any gutsy male at Hogwarts to take a crack at the frigid, beautiful, Daphne Greengrass. Her beauty put the shimmering rays of the sun to shame, every other girl was completely envious of her looks, and all tried to imitate her. But her beauty had a certain quality all of its own. Her beauty was not out of societal pressure, or a desire to be popular. Daphne loved everyone, and she loved herself. That's why Daphne was perfect. However, she refused to date anyone Hogwarts. She was asked to the Yule ball by fourteen Slytherins, eight Gryffindors, 5 Ravenclaws, and 2 Hufflepuffs. She declined every offer. Every weekend, she declined approximately twenty offers to Hogsmead. Seamus never had the courage to ask her out, but this Valentines day, he had a different mindset. He put aside is feelings for Hermione, and stared into the eyes of the monster that plagued him around women. Rejection. His worst enemy, and the monster under his bed. Seamus stared at the inkpot sitting on his nightstand. He could practically hear it teasing, daring him to write him to owl Daphne. It was actually talking to him! A talking inkpot. Seamus stared at it in bewilderment for a few minutes. Suddenly, a chuckle protruded from the closet. He heard the unmistakable voice of a Weasley, and grimaced. "Ron!" He bellowed. The red-head poked his head out from behind the closet, and gave a weak handwave. Seamus shook his head. "Ron, don't you have something better to do than HEX A FRICKING INKPOT?" Before Ron could even answer, Seamus had hopped up from his bed, crossed the room, and slammed the door in Ron's face. Seamus plopped back down on his bed, his wand next to him. He pointed it at the door lock, mumbling "Alohamora." He smiled, his cutely crooked teeth showing. Seamus finally picked up his quill, ready to write. "No more distractions. Here I go." Seamus touched the pen to the paper. "Dear Daphne." He told the quill what to write. "I know you get a great many owls from guys. I know I'm about sub-par as the next Wizard. I just want you to know, I think it would be wonderful if we got a chance to spend time together, before the war. We may not be able to go on the Valentines Day event in Hogsmead, what with the crap Voldemort is making us go through. I would just hate it if we never got a chance to spend any time together." He paused, becoming aware of his growing love for Daphne. "Daphne Greengrass." He announced to the quill. "I implore you go with me to the Valentines Day weekend with me. as my date. Daphne, I realized whilst writing this, that I do love you." He beamed, content. "Yours lovingly, Seamus Finnigan." Seamus was ecstatic. He folded the parchment, put it neatly into a plain, white envelope, and sealed it with a simple binding charm. "Tomorrow, I'll send it." He yawned, and flopped into his bed, exhausted.

The next morning, Seamus' heart was pounding out of his chest, and his palms were slick with sweat. "Oh Gods!" He panted, breathing raggedly, placing his letter in her owls box. Seamus blindly made his way into the Great Hall, and sat down next to Harry. Eating his toast, and gulping down his pumpkin juice, was all done in a blind haze. Finally, when the last person was done chomping down their eggs and bacon, Dumbledore rose from his seat at the teachers table. "Attention students." He boomed. "Seventh Years, next weekend is your special Valentines Day trip to Hogsmead." Dumbledore gave a slight smile to the students. "And now, girls, you are about to receive your invitations. As you know, you must stand next to the gentleman whose invitation you wish to accept. Daphne rolled her eyes, and tossed her pale blonde locks over her shoulder. "Great." She mumbled. The owls bombarded the Great Hall, in a great mass of feathers and hoots. Three envelopes fell in front of Pansy, and Daphne received a whopping... one? Seamus was shocked. Daphne looked straight at him, and batted her eyelashes. Seamus grinned at her, and his smile seemed to grow brighter as Daphne walked towards him, her hair creating elegant blonde waves behind her.  
"I've been wanting you to ask me out." She whispered. She pecked his cheek, and looked him in the eye. "The only real man here." She smiled, her perfect teeth glinting in the sunlight that streamed in through the stained glass windows. Seamus and Daphne. At long last.

All the happy memories flooded into Seamus' mind again. Followed by the unhappy ones. Two years after the Valentines Day trip, they had a beautiful little girl. The next year, everything was smooth until Seamus was invited to a meet-up at the pub with Draco and Harry. He returned home drunk, and slapped Daphne. She shoved him out on the street with a suitcase filled with clothes. Daphne slammed the door in his face, after tossing him the key to an apartment on the west side of Manchester. He lived there for another year. But one certain night, all the haunting memories flooded back to him. Seamus crawled under the duvet and drifted into a restless sleep.

Seamus woke up to a familiar, female shriek. He had accidentally called Daphne, and the shriek was coming from his phone. "Oh God." Seamus whispered, leaping from his bed, wincing as the chilly British air hit his torso. The first thing he did was put on a shirt, followed by shoving some clothes in a gym bag. Seamus slid his feet into a pair of trainers, grabbed his wand, and legged it out of the apartment. "Accio Broom!" He panted, pointing his wand at the sky. A long, slender broom shot his way, and Seamus pounced on it, steering it in the direction of Daphne's house. "Oh Merlin, this can't be real life." He sighed, angling the broomstick downwards. Seamus stuck his foot on the tarmac, skidding to a halt in front of his old house. He walked up to the door, and saw the lock had been tampered with. Busting through the door, he saw something he never wanted to see. Someone was slapping Daphne. Images of Daphne's terrified eyes flashed before his own. Daphne looked at Seamus. Seamus looked at Daphne. The assailant turned to look at Seamus. "Harry?" Seamus gasped, noticing the striking green eyes, hidden behind thick, circular lenses. "Daphne." Seamus called out to his ex, who smiled pathetically at him. Seamus' attention had returned to Harry. "Petrificus Totalus!" Seamus yelled at him. Harry froze, his eyes wide. He fell backwards onto the floor, unable to scream for help. "Daphne." Seamus whispered.  
"Seamus." Daphne whispered back. "Why are you here?"  
"I heard you screaming." Seamus explained, and pulled Daphne close to him. "I want to come home, babe." Seamus felt a series of weak punches spattering his leg. "What the-" It was his daughter. His Wendy.  
"Mummy, who's this?" Wendy pointed at Seamus, piercing him with the robin-egg blue eyes she inherited from her mother.  
"It's an old friend." Daphne smiled at Seamus sadly. "He was just leaving."


End file.
